The last time the polar vortex dropped in for a visit, temperatures in West Michigan hit record lows. Be prepared for another visit, though this time the frigid air will stick around even longer.

Temperatures are expected to be much below normal this week and next because of this round of the polar vortex, a large pocket of very cold air that sits over the polar region during the winter season. It is moving south again.

Today’s high for Holland won’t be much more than 20 degrees with a low at about 4 degrees. Highs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be in the mid-teens with lows just above zero or below zero.

The average high for this time of January is about 32 degrees with an average low about in the upper teens to low 20s.

When the polar vortex affected Holland-area weather for a few days in early January, temperatures dropped into record-low territory.

On Jan. 6, Holland’s high was 17 degrees and the low was minus 1 degree at the West Michigan Regional Airport. On Jan. 7, the high was 12 degrees with a low of zero degrees.

January has already set three record lows: Jan. 2 at minus 2 degrees, Jan. 3 at minus 7 degrees and Jan. 6 at minus 1 degree.

“Impact from the new surge of very cold air may include the already familiar risks from below-zero temperatures including life-threatening conditions and frostbite. The cold may be intense enough to cause school closings, frozen pipes and water main breaks,” said meteorologist Alex Sosnowski of AccuWeather.com. “Heating systems may struggle to keep up, people will spend more money keeping their homes and businesses warm and ice will again build up on area rivers. Where the cold is accompanied by snow, travel delays are likely.”

The cold is forecast to continue into next week as well, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids.

The polar vortex will move farther south and get stronger, Sosnowski said.

“The pattern will gradually change the current mixture of Pacific and Arctic air in the Canada Prairies and the North Central U.S. to all Arctic air,” he said.

A clipper system could bring more snow and lake effect.

The cold could increase ice on Lake Michigan, which would actually decrease the amount of lake effect snow in the Holland area.

Lake effect is caused by cold air passing over the lake’s warm water. The less water surface there is, the less the transfer of moisture and the lower the instance of lake-effect snow, said meteorologist Wayne Hoepner of the weather service.

“The lake gives lots of its moisture to storms, which is why we have so much lake-effect snow,” Hoepner said.

As of Friday, Holland has received more than 20 inches of snow. The average January snowfall for Holland is 20.3 inches.